Loom shuttle



April 13, 1937. I. sNoW 2,077,278

LOOM SHUTTLE Filed 001;. 30, 1936 INVENTOR. ASA/1c J/yo ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 13, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LO OM SHUTTLE Isaac Snow, Lawrence, Mass, assignor to Draper Corporation, Hopedale, Mass., a corporation of Maine Application October 30, 1936, Serial No. 108,424

3 Claims.

The present invention pertains to automatically threading loom shuttles, and more particularly to tension devices thereof.

Shuttles of the type to which my invention pertains have been provided with a plurality of fixed tensioning members such as pins arranged in two series in a longitudinal thread passage in the threading block. Such members are staggered in a manner to cause the filling thread to follow a tortuous course through the thread passage, whereby the filling thread is tensioned before it leaves the shuttle. Prior tension devices of this nature have not proven satisfactory, because such devices formed from separate individual pins are expensive and the pins cannot be readily replaced when they become worn.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide, in a shuttle having a threading block provided with a longitudinal thread passage, a

tension device formed from a single piece of sheet material and provided with two series of integral thread tensioning fingers fixed in the thread passage in staggered relation for engaging and tensioning the filling thread.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a shuttle having a threading block as aforesaid, thread tensioning fingers in the thread passage, which fingers shall have wider thread engaging surfaces at the top of the thread passage than at the bottom thereof, whereby more tension is imparted to the filling thread when it is at the top of the thread passage than when it is at the bottom of the thread passage.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are accomplished by the embodiment illustrated on the accompanying drawing, of which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the thread delivery end of a shuttle having my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a view of the threading block and tension device, in cross-section taken approximately on line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a view in cross-section taken approximately on line 33 of Fig. 2.

The shuttle shown on the drawing comprises a shuttle body I having a cavity 2 for reception of a filling carrier 3. The filling carrier is detachably held in the shuttle body by any suitable'usual means, not shown. The shuttle body is recessed to receive a suitable threading block 4. The

threading block 4 has front and rear walls 5 and 6 and a floor l, defining the usual longitudinal thread passage 8. The threading block also has a horn 9 which projects from the front wall outwardly and rearwardly over the thread passage. A side delivery eye H1 in the front wall of the shuttle communicates with the thread passage.

The shuttle as thus far described operates in the usual manner, which may be briefly described. When the shuttle is first picked after the transfer thereto of a fresh filling carrier, the filling end I leading from the filling carrier swirls about in unwinding from the filling carrier, and passes beneath the horn 9 into the thread passage 8. During this first pick after transfer, the filling thread extends generally longitudinally of the shuttle, as shown by Fig. 1, well up toward the top of the thread passage. On the next pick, the filling thread passes down into the side delivery eye l0 and is thereby drawn down toward the bottom of the thread passage. The filling thread then continues to run over the floor of the thread passage, or over a wear pin l I just above the fioor.

The tension device of the present invention is of the type having two series of thread engaging fingers positioned in the thread passage 8. In accordance with the invention, the device is stamped or otherwise formed from one piece of sheet material such as metal. In the particular form shown on the drawing, the tension device has a longitudinal base portion l2 which is positioned in a slot [3 in the floor I. This base portion is fixed in the slot in any suitable manner. I prefer, however, to provide a downwardly extending lug M on the portion l2, which lug is apertured to receive a screw or the like which may pass through the opening [5 in the threading block. The tension device includes two series of thread tensioning fingers I6, I6 and I1, ll, respectively.

The fingers l6 and I! are formed integrally with the longitudinal portion l2 and project upwardly therefrom approximately centrally of the longitudinal thread; passage. The fingers of the respective series are staggered in that the thread engaging surfacesof the fingers l6 are the rear vertical faces of such fingers and are materially rearwardly of the thread engaging surfaces of the fingers H. The fingers are spaced apart longitudinally of the shuttle the distance necessary to provide the required tension on the filling thread. The tops of the fingers 3 are bent forwardly and inserted in a slot l8 in front of the threading block. The tops of the fingers 11 are bent rearwardly and inserted in a slot l9 in the rear wall of the threading block. This bending of the tops of the fingers provides a thread entrance which opens upwardly to receive the filling thread as the latter moves down into the thread passage.

The tension device as thus constructed is found to be as efliclent as prior art constructions comprising two series of separate individual pins fixed in about the same relative positions as the present fingers l6 and H. In addition, my tension device is much less costlythan the individual pins. Furthermore, the one-piece tension device may be detachably secured to the threading block, as shown, whereby it may be readily replaced at small cost whenever it becomes worn.

The present invention also contemplates provision of means in the tension device for equalizing the tension on the filling thread during the first pick after transfer. first pick the tension on the filling thread is usually less than during subsequent picks, because the additional friction incidentto'the passing of the thread to the side delivery eye is not resent during the first pick after transfer. It is also noted that during the first'pick the filling thread runs adjacent the top of the thread passage (see Fig. 3) while during subsequent picks the filling thread runs close to the bottom of the thread passage. I accordingly make the thread engaging surfaces of at least some, but preferably all, of the fingers l6 and IT materially wider at the top of the thread passage than at the bottom thereof. The tension device thus imparts to the filling thread more tension during the first pick than during subsequent picks, with the result that the total tension of thethread is subsantially the same during all picks.

Having fully disclosed the preferredembodiment of my invention, I claim 1. An automatically threading loom shuttle comprising a shuttle body having a threading block and a side delivery eye, said threading block having a longitudinal thread passage, and a one-piece sheet-material tension device fixed to said threading block in said thread passage; said tension device comprising a longitudinal portion fixed in a slot at the bottom of said thread passage and two series of thread tensioning fingers formed integrally with said longitudinal portion and projecting upwardly therefrom in fixed staggered relation, the tops of the fingers of one That is, during such" series being bent toward the front of the thread passage and the tops of the fingers of the other series being bent toward the back of the thread passage to provide an upwardly opening thread entrance.

2. An automatically threading loom shuttle comprising a shuttle body having a threading block and a side delivery eye, said threading block having front and rear walls and a fioor defining a longitudinal thread passage, and a one-piece sheet metal tension device detachably secured *to said threading block in said thread passage;

said tension device comprising a longitudinal portion fixed in a slot in said floor and two series of thread tens'ioning fingers formed integrally with said longitudinal portion and projecting upwardly therefrom in fixed staggered relation, said fingers being spaced apart longitudinally of the thread passage, the tops of the fingers of one series being bent forwardly and inserted in a slot in said front wall and the tops of the fingers of the other series being bent rearwardly and inserted in a slot in said rear wall to thereby provide an upwardly opening thread entrance.

3. An automatically threading loom shuttle, comprising a shuttle body having a threading block and a side delivery eye, said threading block having a longitudinal thread passage, and a one-piece sheet-material tension device fixed to said threading block in said thread passage; said tension device comprising a longitudinal portion fixed in a slot at the bottom of said thread passage and two series of thread tensioning fingers formed integrally with said longitudinal portion and projecting upwardly therefrom in fixed staggered relation, the thread engaging surfaces of at least some of said fingers being materially wider adjacent the top of the thread passage than at the bottom thereof to thereby impart to the filling thread more tension when it is at the top than when it is at the bottom of the thread passage, the tops of said fingers being curved to provide an upwardly opening thread entrance.

ISAAC SNOW. 

